Starting mechanism



Dec. 29, 1936. L. MARTINO 2,065,948

START ING MECHANI SM Filed Aug. 10, 1956 Patented Dec. 29, 1 936 STARTING MECHANISM Leonardo Martino, Providence, R. 1.

Application August 10, 1936, Serial No. 95,081

5 Claims. (C1,. 74

This invention relates to starting devices for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to a starting unit adapted to be automatically disengaged from the engine when started.

In starter units of the aforementioned type considerable difficulty has been encountered in providing mountings for the driving springs which are capable of withstanding the shocks and strains to which they are subjected, and consequently the springs and/or associated parts often break and have to be replaced or repaired, such replacement and repair necessitating the dismembering of the starting unit which involves considerable time and expense. I

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide an improved mounting for the starting spring which is designed so as to be capable of withstanding the shocks and strains without the use of reinforcements, ancillary parts, or means other than those forming an integral part of the mounting; and to provide a starting unit which is of simple design, having but few parts, which is efficient and reliable in operation, which may be manufactured and installed at a relatively low cost, and which overcomes the various objectionable features inherent in starting units heretofore used.

Further objects will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a full scale side elevation of a starting unit construction in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the spring mounting;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a separable collar providing a mounting for one end of the driving spring; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the collar integral with the shaft.

The embodiment chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a driving shaft l having a hub 2 and a bifurcated extension 3 which engages a similar extension 5 integral with a driven shaft 6 which is likewise provided with a hub I (Fig. 2). The driving shaft 1 is connected with an electric motor (not shown), the operation of which is controlled by the usual switch, and the driven shaft 6 carries a coaxial screw threaded sleeve ID, the end of which is provided with an enlarged head II. A pinion gear l2, having an interiorly threaded bore, is carried by the sleeve l0, and one end of the pinion is provided with a weighted ring 14 and the teeth on the opposite end' of the pinion are tapered or beveled to facilitate meshing with the ring gear 15 of the engine with, which the starter is associated.

A collar i8 (Fig. 4) tightly fits about the hub of each shaft and this collar is formed with a peripheral recess 20 having substantially radially extending walls 2! and'22 and'a flat bottom wall 23 provided with a threaded aperture 24 which registers with a threaded aperture 25 formed in the hub of each shaft when the parts are [0 assembled asshown in Fig. 2.

A coil driven spring 28, coaxial with the shafts l and 6, is interposed between the collars l8 carried by the hubs 2 and I, respectively. The spring 28 may be of the usual construction, having a substantially rectangular cross section, but each end is bent to provide a loop or eyelet 30 which tightly fits within the recess 20 so that its peripheral wall engages .thewalls 2i and 22, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. Each eyelet is held seated on the bottom wall 23 of the recess by means of a bolt 32 which extends through the threaded aperture 2 into the aperture 25 of the hub, thus firmly securing the parts in position. A look washer or the like 33 is preferably interposed between the upper edge of the eyelet 30 and the head of the bolt so as to prevent the latter from becoming loosened.

Although the collars I8 are shown as being separate from the hubs on the shafts I and 6, it 30 is to be understood that if desired the shafts may be formed with collars I8 integral with the shafts or hubs, as shown in Fig. 5, in which case the collars l8 may be of a slightly smaller diameter, for example, of the order of 1% inches as compared with the detachable collars 18 which have a diameter of the order of 1% inches. In either case the periphery of the collar is provided with the recess 2!] having radially extending walls 2| and 22 constituting abutments which coact directly with the slightly resilient periphery of the eyelets 3 formed on the end of the spring. In a driving unit constructed in accordance with the present invention, the bolts 32 merely hold the eyelets 30 in place within the recess 20 and as the inner peripheries of the eyelets loosely fit about the shanks of the bolts 32 and as their outer peripheries act directly against the walls 2! and 22 to transmit forces to and from the driving spring, the bolts are substantially free from shocks and impacts which otherwise would tend to shear them from the collars to which they are attached. Moreover, as the eyelets 30 are slightly resilient and act directly against the walls 2| and 22 of the recesses, they overcome to some extent the severity of the shocksror impacts incident to sudden starting, and hence the danger of breaking the driving spring is not only reduced to a minimum but I have found that I am able to dispense with the use of a so-called heavy-duty spring.

It will be further noted that a starting unit embodying the present invention does not require the use of reinforcements, ancillary parts, or

means other than those constituting an integral part of the spring mounting, and that thestarter embodies a minimum number of parts which may be manufactured at a low cost and easily assembled and dismembered.

While I have shown and described onedesirable embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A starting unit comprising a driving shaft,

7 a collar fast to said shaft, said collar having a peripheral recess with substantially radially extending walls and an opening in the bottom wall of said recess, a driven shaft having a collar and a screw-threaded element with a pinion gear mounted thereon, a coiled spring coaxial with the shafts and interposed between the collars carried thereby, one end of said spring being secured to the collar carried by said driven shaft, and the other end of said spring being shaped to provide an eyelet tightly fitting within said recess, and removable fastening means anchored in said opening, for holding said eyelet within said recess.

2. A starting-unit comprising a driving shaft, a driven shaft, each shaft having a collar provided with a peripheral recess having substantially radially extending walls and a screw-threaded aperture in its bottom wall, a coiled spring coaxial with the shafts and interposed between the collars, the ends of said spring terminating in substantially closed loops, each loop tightly fitting within one of the recesses so that its peripheryengages the radially extending walls of the recess, and a bolt extending through the opening in each loop into the threaded apertureso as to hold the loop in position within the recess.

3. A starting unit comprising a, driving shaft having a collar adjacent to one end, a driven shaft having a collar adjacent to one end, each collar having a recess in its periphery and a screw-threaded opening in the bottom wall of said recess, a coiled spring coaxial with the shafts and interposed between the collars, the ends of said spring being enlarged and tightly fitting within the recesses in said collars so that all shocks, driving forces, etc. transmitted to and fromsaid spring, are borne by the walls bf the recess, and screw-threaded fastening means in engagement with each opening for locking the end of said spring therein. I g

4. Ina starting mechanism of the class described, spaced coaxial collars' adapted to beremovably secured to the driving shaft and driven shaft of the starting mechanism, each collar having a peripheral recess, a coiled spring interposed between the collars, the ends of said spring being shaped to provide enlarged eyelets which tightly fit within said recesses so that forces transmitted to and from said spring act on and'through the walls of said recesses, and removable means engaging the bottom of said recess for locking the end of the spring in said recess. y

5. In a starting mechanism of the class described, spaced coaxial collars, each collar having a peripheral recess provided with substantially radially extending walls and a flat bottomwall, the bottom wall having a screw-threaded aperture therein, a coiled spring interposed between the collars, the ends of said spring being bent to provide enlarged resilient eyelets seated on the bottom walls of the recesses with their peripheries yieldingly engaging the walls of the recesses, and boltsextending through the eyelets into the threaded apertures so as to hold the eyelets in place within said recesses.

LEONARDO MARTINO., 

